1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to apparatuses and methods for copy protection, and more particularly, to apparatuses and methods for copy protection of contents broadcasted using content broadcast technology.
2. Background
Presently, various digitally transmitted broadcast are being developed because contents can be displayed with high definition and clarity. In the U.S.A., the next generation television adopted to receive digitally transmitted contents is known as the ATV (advanced television). In Europe, digitally transmitted broadcast or digital broadcasting is being developed under various projects such as HD DIVINE in Sweden, SPECTRE in U.K., DIAMOND in France, etc. Additionally, efforts are being made by various countries to develop digital broadcasting to interoperate with B-ISDN or computer networks.
Protection of broadcast contents is a major concern. In order to allow various digital broadcast contents to be viewed by approved users, a host, such as a digital broadcast receiver may use a conditional access device. A protection method is now described.
A broadcasting station scrambles digital broadcast contents with a secret key and then broadcasts the scrambled digital contents through a wired (e.g., cable or telephone) or wireless (e.g., satellite) network. A digital broadcast receiver receives the digital broadcast contents and forwards them to a conditional access device. The conditional access device descrambles the scrambled digital broadcast contents using the secret key for an approved user, and thereby allowing the user to view the digital broadcast contents.
In the case of a cable broadcasting network, a cable broadcasting station transmits a cable broadcast and a cable broadcast receiver receives the transmitted cable broadcast. The cable broadcasting station is usually referred to as a system operator (SO) head end, which is usually a local cable broadcast provider, or a multiple system operator (MSO), which is basically several SOs grouped together.
The cable broadcast receiver, which may be an OpenCable Digital TV or a CableReady Digital TV, etc., may employ an Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) standard, and may use a cable card or a point of deployment (POD) module, which is inserted in a slot located at the cable broadcast receiver. The cable card may use Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) standard in order to interface with the cable broadcast receiver. The cable card may function as a security module and may include a conditional access (CA) system for controlling access to contents by the user. Alternatively, the cable broadcast receiver may have a built-in module that is a functional equivalent of the cable card, in which case, the cable broadcast receiver may not require a separate cable card. The conditional access system ensures that various contents provided by the broadcasting station are being paid or are prevented from being copied, for example. As such, scrambling and descrambling operations may occur between the security module and the cable broadcast receiver.